Means for spreading cut tobacco in cigarette-making machines



April 15, 1930. H. S'CHUNEMANN MEANS FOR SPREADING CUT TOBACCO IN CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 23

INVENTDR XX Schdnema n April 15, 1930. H. SCHUNEMANN 0 MEANS'FOR SPREADING CUT TOBACCO IN "CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES Filed Nov. 25, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Afl cfidne mam l 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet s April 15, 1930. H. SCHUNEMANN MEANS FOR SPREADING CUT TOBACCO IN CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINES Filed Nov. 23,

Patented Apr. 15, 1930 UNlTEfi STATES.

PATENT OFFECE sem nar ns, o SPANDAU, GERMANY, Assistan e to MESSRS- N UEiR- BURG.SGHE vsnwamw eas mscmrr it B- 11-, or .GEREQNHAUS, concert, GERMANY, GORZPORATION OF GER-MANY ivrnnns son srnnnnrne our TOBACCOIN stoneware-MA ING MACHINES Application filed. November 23, 1927, Serial No. 235,311, and in Germany September 10, 1925.

r his invention relates to means for spread- .cut tobacco in cigarette making machines, whereby it is possible to teed the cut tobacco from the container to the rod-forming mechanism ot the cigarette machine in a layer of uniform thickness without tearing the fibres.

Various forms of the invention are shown 011 the drawing, in which Fig.1 is a diagrammatic section.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one form of the invention.

3 is a diagrannnatic section of a secend tor-in of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic section of a third form.

In accordance with the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cut tobacco is supplied through a container 1, having guide surfaces and along a conveyor belt 2 to the circumference of a perforated rotating hollow cylinder .3, having an outer cover of wire cloth of fine niesh. Within this hollow cylinder is a second fixed cylinder on the circumference of which are arranged the snide roll rs G which support the outer perf ted cylinder The interior of the cylinder 4 is lifipll clear by means of a pump, not shown. Arranged at a point opposite the inner end of the conveyor belt 2, the inner cylinder 4 provided with a sector shaped channel Z, the inner walls of which can be adjusted one with regard to the other and which is under the influence of a vacuum produced in the inner cylinder.

The tobacco carried by the belt 2 towards the cylinder body is drawn at (Z on to the rotating sieve cylinder 3, under the vacuum in the open part a b and is carried along as far as the point In at which point the suction effect of the vacuum in the hollow cylinder ceases, allowing the tobacco that has been carried along up to this point to fall uniformly on to a second belt 5. By means of the belt 5 the tobacco then reaches the usual "forming chamber of the machine.

The guide rollers also form a seal at the points a and Z) between the inner fixed cylinder and the outer rotating cylinder.

During the transfer of the tobacco from the wire clothed cylinder 3 to the conveyor belt of the cigarette machine, by ncans of which the material conveyed to the cigarette pa.- per, an exact adjustment of the space jected to the vacuum ensures the tobacco glibres being carried positively by means Olflillfi.

conveyor belt, which moves at right angles o the tailing t ba co fi res, in th clilfecztion of the ar ow. O ng to the fact th t the su tion on the tobacco fibres remains efiefit-iye during this positive pull and that at the one end the tobacco fibres are not released until the last moment, a uniform deposit layer upon layer is assured of the tobacco fibres in the stratum and both as regards the thickness of the layer and the arrangemento f the fibres longitudinally of the cigarettes to be subsequently formed. Owing to this pull and to the fact that the fibres thrown oil are deposited in layers one over the other, any inequalities in length of the fibres are adjust.- ed, thus leading to a thoroughly uni .orxn composition of the layer.

In accordance with the modification shown in Fig. 3, a closed chamber 6 is provided to which the cut tobacco is fed through the inlet chute 8 by means of a belt 7. This closed chamber 6. is provided with a hood 9 which merges into a winnowing and discharging Chamber 10. This discharging chamber 10 is provided with several discharge funnels 11, 12 and 13 arranged one behind the other and provided with discharge rollers 14, 15 and 16, which in accordancewith the example previously described are formed as suction rollers, with suction of the air through the perforated jackets of the rollers and the hollow spindles thereoji. Plates lt, 15, 16 are provided for breaking the vacuum on the lower adjustable portion of the jackets of the rollers for the purpose of delivering the sucked up layers of tobacco on to the conveyer belt 17 below. It will be seen that the suction of the air from the discharging rollers ll, 15 and 16 inside the casing 6 and the chamber 10 produces a current of air that is directed towards the rollers and by means of which the fed cut tobacco is drawn up and according to its length and weight is fed step by step to the rollers arranged one behind the other, so that the tobacco is deposited in layers on the conveyor belt 17, the heaviest layer being undermost, and on this the lighter layers are arranged so that a uniformly mixed layer or band of tobacco is formed when the tobacco passes from the conveyor belt to the other mechanism.

A further advantage of the device is that the light tobacco fibres are to a certain extent dried by the current of air, and in addition to this the drying process can be regulated by the speed of suction, the temperature selected and the degree of humidity in the in-drawn air. In order to break up any lumps that may form in the cut tobacco owing to its I lightness and thus to secure a more complete suction of the fed tobacco and uniform distribution in the current of air, a beater is fitted in the chamber 6 consisting of a Vertical shaft 18 having vanes 19 arranged at suitable intervals apart and which co-operate with other rigid vanes 20 provided within a rforated funnel 21 arranged in the cham- E; 6 and so break up the lumps of tobacco. At the same time, and owing to the effect of the suction pipe 22, at the lower end of the chamber, light particles of dust contained in the tobacco are not carried off by the ascending current of air but are first carried away through the holes in the funnel 21, that is to sa they cannot contaminate the layers of to acco deposited on the conveyor belt 17.

The precipitating force of the rollers 14, 15 and 16 can if need be augmented by giving them an electrostatic charge. The number of individual layers discharged by the rollers 14, 15 and 16 depends on the one hand upon the suctional power of the rollers and on the other hand upon their speed of rotation. Thus, any desired arrangement of the layers of the tobacco fibres can be obtained by regulating the suctional power and the speed of rotation of the aforesaid rollers.

The further modification shown in Fig. et varies from that shown in Fig. 3 mainly in the fact that the current of air which is employed to sift the cut tobacco is not produced, or not produced solely, by the suction rollers, but that an independent current of air is blown into the feed chamber for the cut tobacco which draws up the tobacco and passes it on into the actual separating cha1ner in which the sifting is done according to the specific weight and the composition of the upper surface, whilst the very fine and light fibres which are not drawn up are returned for further sifting.

In accordance with Fig. 4, 23 is the sifting chamber to which the cut tobacco is fed by the belt 24, and any lumps of tobacco that may have formed are broken up into fibres by a rotating vane roller. Opening into the lower floor of the chamber 23 and supplied with air by a fan or a blower is a nozzle 26 through which the current of air is blown into the pipe 27 which opens vertically into the chamber. The fed tobacco falls on to the belt 28 and is drawn up by the current of air into the pipe 27. The pipe 27 merges into the horizontal pipe 29 which at its front end is open to the sifting chamber 30. The sifting chamber is provided with discharge openings which are closed by means of discharge rollers 31, 32, 33, arranged one behind the other. The rollers 31, 32 and 33 are subjected to suetion but can in addition to or in lieu thereof be charged electrostatically, so that they deposit the sifted tobacco on the conveyor belt 3% according to the size of the fibre and the specific weightin the form of a band in suceessive layers and by means of which belt the further feed to the cigarette machine is effected. The tobacco fibres not carried along arrive with the circulating air back into the chamber 23 and fall on to the conveyor belt 35 and from thence are blown into the cycle by the current of air.

In the chamber 23, and for the returned fine tobacco fibres, can also be arranged a perforated partition wall 36 with a suction pipe 37 for the direct elimination of dustlike particles of tobacco and other dust contaminating the tobacco. In this way, whilst the very sensitive tobacco fibres are complctely safeguarded, a uniform deposit of the cigarette tobacco is obtained in layers with the elimination of the impurities and suitable drying for the most favourable treatment of the formed tobacco rod.

I claim:

1. A means for conveying cut tobacco and depositing the tobacco so conveyed in a uniform layer on a travelling conveyor from a tobacco feeding means comprising a rotating hollow suction cylinder having spaced perforations and a fixed and hollow cylinder within said first cylinder provided with a sectorshaped suction opening in its outer pe riphery.

2. A means for conveying cut tobacco as claimed in claim 1, and in combination therewith, of means for sealing the edges of said opening in the fixed cylinder and the inner periphery of the rotatable cylinder and to facilitate rotation of said rotatable cylinder on said fixed cylinder.

HEINRICH SCHUNEMANN. 

